SIMON GRAYSON says that given the demands of modern-day football, his departure from Huddersfield Town was not a surprise – but he thought he would get at least a couple more matches to end the 12-match winless Championship sequence which cost him his job.

“With the kind of run we were on, I knew I was under a little bit of pressure,” said former Blackpool and Leeds boss Grayson, eight days on from his exit and that of his trusted assistants Glynn Snodin and Ian Miller.

“But we had drawn six of those 12 games and we were still seven points clear of the bottom three when I left. Staying up was the sole aim at the start of the season.

“The performances were certainly not as good as we would have liked and confidence among the players had dropped a little bit.

“One or two things went against us in games, like the Sheffield Wednesday match where the same player (Jeremy Helan) got two yellow cards but no red, but you don’t want to make excuses.”

Town, of course, grabbed that elusive win against Crystal Palace on Wednesday, with caretaker Mark Lillis in charge.

And Harrogate-based Grayson claimed: “I thought it was coming, and I thought we would have had two or three, or even four more games to get it.”

The 43-year-old refused to use the transfer of £8m striker Jordan Rhodes to divisional rivals Blackburn on the final day of the August transfer window as an excuse for Town’s inconsistent form under his command.

“Jordan is a real talent, but nobody was talking about him not being here when we were at the top end of the table earlier in the season,” said the man who guided Town to second spot in the Championship in September after leading them to play-off final glory against Sheffield United at Wembley, so completing a hat trick of promotions from League I with each of the three clubs he has managed.

“We were able to bring in James Vaughan and Jermaine Beckford as well as a few other players, and we tried to adapt things to suit the squad we had.

“I had 14 or 15 who were a match for anyone in the division on their day, but not much more depth below that.

“It was the same group who got results in the early part of the season, when we probably over-achieved and raised expectations.

“Even when we were up in the top reaches, I still knew it was a tough division and that we were likely to hit a difficult patch.”

Grayson, axed less than 12 months into a three-and-a-half year contract, was sacked by Leeds a year ago today and quipped: “I need to work out a way of getting through January!”

He’s been linked with a return to Blackpool, but said: “At the moment I’m coming to terms with boredom – when you wake up in the morning, what are you going to do?

“I’m very disappointed at leaving Huddersfield.

“You always want to go into a club and leave them in a better state than when you arrived, and I’ve done that with all three of mine.

“But Huddersfield have made their decision and their new chapter is about to start, whoever it may be and whenever it may be.”